1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to door handles for automobiles and more specifically, to replacement door handles for automobiles that, when installed, are recessed into the surface of the door.
2. State of the Art
Many door handles for vehicles, including both cars and trucks, manufacturing during the 1950s, '60s and '70s, especially those manufactured by General Motors, protruded from the surface of the door panel and included a push button for actuating a door latching mechanism. Depressing the push button caused the latching mechanism to be released to allow the door to open.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,149 to Gergoe et al. discloses a conventional push button type door handle assembly for a vehicle, the entirety of which is incorporated by this reference. As shown in FIG. 1, a door handle assembly 16 includes a handle 18 that can be manually grasped to pull the door 12 open subsequent to unlatching of a door lock as well as a push button 20 that is manually depressed to unlatch the door lock. The operation of the door handle assembly 16 proceeds by a person depressing the push button 20 which causes the push rod 32 to move the unlatching member 60 which in turn unlatches the door lock.
Today, vehicle door latches on practically all vehicles are usually operated by use of a handle which requires the user to pull, lift, or tug, i.e., an outward force rather than a pushing force. There is a reason for this. The unfortunate side effect of the push button design was that external objects which touched a vehicle during a collision, spinout or rollover could trigger the latch, causing the door to pop open and eject the vehicle occupants. A death which occurred exactly that way led to the landmark legal case of Daly v. General Motors Corp., 20 Cal. 3d 725 (1978).
Many of these older vehicles have become quite collectable. Often times, however, restoration of the vehicle is necessary in order to return the vehicle to operating condition. In addition, rather than simply replacing non-working components with reproductions that are of similar construction to the original, it is often desirable to customize the vehicle with replacement parts that give a more custom look. It is further desirable to provide such replacement parts that increase the safety of the vehicle with newer components that provide incorporate more modern safety features.